Looking out on The Zone
by Dasrin Tascer
Summary: A young soldier, searching for his commanding officer with the help of the local stalkers and his militia, finds the commanding officer dead. Now, he must continue on through everyday life with his second-in-command and his commanding officer's sister.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The prickly snow fell on his helmet. The vizor was frozen and he could see the sky. It was orange, shining with the sun. He gave a short, sharp look at his hands, feeling the weight of the suit. The attack on Pripyat's mercenaries had failed. He lowered his hands again, the sun shining into his visor. He blinked and winced as he tried to move. The wounds hurt and soon the dogs would come to eat them. He had given the retreating order yet still, many of his men were there. He rose up, the pain in his chest deepening. The battle had been an ambush which the mercenaries handled well. They suffered heavy losses and so did his troops. He gave a look around. There were dead troops on the ground, some still breathing, some limp. There was one mercenary trying to get up, heaving himself on his friends. He then got up, looking back at him. The two stared at each other before they both spotted a gun. _Just like the first time in Pripyat._ He smirked at the man under his mask and ran at the gun, diving in the end to reach the gun. He grabbed it by the handle, firing at the man. He let out a groan before dying to his wounds. There was silence except for a heavy breathing. "Sergeant! Are you there?" The communicator in his helmet broke the silence. He raised his hand to touch the side of his head, before speaking with a rough voice. "This is Rockaheel." He heard a sigh of relief at the other end. "This is Beta 2, Sergeant. We discovered her." He rose, his heart jumping at the mention of her. "Where, Corporal?" The man didn't speak at first, before saying: "Inside the mercenaries' base." He turned the radio off and rushed to the old base. Was he really hoping she would still be alive? Yes, he assured himself as he reached the old base. He sighed, walking in. There she was, being treated to by Sencha the medic. Something was not right though. Her skin was cold and as Sencha rose, shaking his head sadly, the reality of the situation sinked in. She was dead. Sencha walked over, placing his hands on his shoulders. "Listen, Martin. The mercenaries killed her before we made it here and the base was abandoned. She died days ago, around the time we engaged the mercs in combat. You've already killed everyone responible and that's good. I'm sorry and i'm gonna call in the military to take her away to be buried. I however did discover her diary. It ends shortly before our fight with them. Please, Martin. Think everything through before making descisions." Martin sat down near her corpse, sighing, opening the diary at a folded page. The final hours before she died. He started to read:

"_Day 35._

_This is the last day, i can feel it. I hear them talking out there, arguing if to kill me or not. If my end truly comes, i'll embrace it with all my glory. Sergeant Rockaheel.. No, Martin. Yes, Martin has the command now. Here, in this diary, will be my access codes, so Martin can use them best. I love him. He won't know that until too late. They're coming. I wish to be buried in my hometown, alongside my parents. Now only my sister remains.._

He closed the diary, nodding. He picked up her corpse, and gave one last look. Her eyes were open, yet, he could see peace reflecting back. Something Martin could possibly never achieve. He smiled and slid his right hand over her eyes, the emerald green eyes closing forever. He walked through the open doors to the helicopter outside. The helicopter was large, black and coverer in a shiny metal. Martin smiled and placed her corpse inside the heli. He gave a nod to the man inside and sat next to her. "Sergeant? Where to?" Martin looked back at the man. "To the hill. I'm going to get my stuff. And then it's back to the nearest base to get her home." The helicopter lifted off to fly across the half-snowed landscape. Martin peered out the window every once and a while until they landed. Most of his troops were there. Martin stepped out of the heli to go inside the building. He gathered some clothes into a backpack, put a notebook ontop of the clothes and threw the backpack over his shoulder. As he made his way back into the heli, he stopped near Sencha and said: " Corporal Sencha Vladimirevich Bandarov, you are the acting CO of this operation until i return. Make me proud, Sencha." Sencha hunched up and gave a salute to Michael. "Da, Comrade Rockaheel." Martin then walked into the chopper and before walking in, threw in his bag and turned around, saying: "That goes to all of you. We shall remain here as a foothold. Never lose sight of the Lookout Base, men!" He gave a salute and so replied all of the men inside the base. Martin walked inside and flew off into the setting sun. And somewhere in the Pacific Coast, a family would receive the sad news once again.


	2. Intermission: The Zone's Watch

**Intermission: The Zone's Watch: The Lookouts.**

"A glimmer of hope was was we needed. Everyday life in the zone was harsh and uncomfortable without a viable trade route. Yet, there was hope. Our, the human's strongholds in The Zone were providing refuge. Near a well travelled road in The Zone, there once was a hideout. It covered that well travelled zone, which was mostly used by bandits to extort goods. We called it the Lookout Road because of the old farm that covered much of the road. A man, named Martin, discovered it. And from that point, the Lookouts were created.."

_Sencha Bandarov,_

_ Second in command of The Lookouts._

Martin Rockaheel, the man who discovered this legendary hideout, was just a US Army Stalker serving in the zone. He came into the zone soon after the Clear Sky faction, now shrouded in the past, was formed. Working with them, he aimed to help humankind understand the Zone. His day job was as a artifact hunter with a team of six Military Stalkers:

Captain Holiander "Holly" Maria Shandar, age 24 (born 06.03.1989)

Sergeant Martin Rockaheel, age 22 (born 24.02.1991)

Corporal Marcus Hall, age 25 (born 20.06.1988, died 15.09.2013)

Private Artyom Mazinski, age 19 (born 01.12.1994, died 15.09.2013)

Private Thomas Moore, age 22 (born 14.07.1991, died 15.09.2013)

Private Mikael Sonquist, age 18 (born 17.03.1995)

I had a talk to Mikael Sonquist about their failed trip to Pripyat. He confirmed to us that the team went to the dark city of Pripyat to look for artifacts and after avoiding many patrols and mutants, stumbled upon a Monolith ambush. Private Moore was killed by a sniper rifle shot and the rest died while fighting and retreating from the Monolith. Soon after, the Ukraine military got out of the Zone. The three remaining members of the group ran back to the nearest safehouse, the laundromat where they relocated to Yanov Station. Private Sonquist was brought back to Europe and the two continued on their hunt. Soon after another failed attempt to hunt for bigger artefacts pissed off local bandits and Captain Shandar was captured. Private Sonquist was sent back to help the Sergeant track her down but the Sergeant had, as our other interviewee, Sencha put it: Veered off into the darkness. Soon after, Sencha and Martin stumbled upon The Lookout Farm and cleared out the nearby areas of any danger. Then, the Lookouts were created as a local group of Stalkers to help cull the bandits in the area. The group gathered about a hundred stalkers in two months who helped the Zone become a safer place.

However, Rockaheel became depressed with every raid they made against the bandits. He eventually discovered that the bandits had sold Captain Shandar to the mercenaries in Pripyat. After the Ukraine military retreated from Pripyat, Rockaheel seized his chance and attacked the remnants of the cirty. However, him and his men were lost after that attack. A few days later, about 45 stalkers returned to Lookout Farm.

Our attempts to talk with Mr. Rockaheel have been in vain, as he refuses to comment. However, thanks to the cooperation of Mr. Bandarov and Mr. Sonquist, we have gathered this much information.

Michael Sonis,

Zone Institute Newspaper


End file.
